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Six of the best uses of 60,000 Qantas Points

GUIDE: Using Points

DIFFICULTY: Easy

TIME TO READ: 4 minutes

POSTED: July 21, 2017

UPDATED: December 11, 2018

LOYALTY PROGRAMS: Qantas Frequent Flyer

Most of us have at least some points sitting in our Qantas Frequent Flyer accounts, which can be increased quite easily through credit card spend, so here is our round-up of the best-value redemptions for 60,000 Qantas Points.

The criteria

The redemptions that made the cut:

cost 60,000 or less Qantas Points

attract low fuel surcharges, taxes and fees

have generally good award seat availability

use the lower-priced award chart for Qantas and preferred partners rather than the more expensive (non-preferred) partner table

1. East Coast to New Zealand in Emirates Business Class for 36,000 or First Class for 54,000 points

We’re really lucky in Australia to be one of the relatively few countries in the world with Emirates flights not only flying direct between our five major cities and its hub in Dubai, but also between:

These daily flights help to now make Emirates the second-largest carrier operating international flights in and out of Australia.

You can take advantage of the A380 aircraft featuring an onboard bar and shower in First Class and direct-aisle access and lie-flat seats in Business Class flying from the East Coast to New Zealand for 36,000 points in Business or 54,000 points in First Class.

All airlines are prohibited by the New Zealand Government from charging fuel surcharges, so your departing flight back across the Tasman will be have lower fees than your one heading there from Australia.

3. All Australian cities to North America in Qantas/American Airlines Economy Class for 45,000-60,000 points

You can fly on Qantas or American Airlines (or a combination of the two) for the same amount of points, but you may prefer American Airlines flights over Qantas ones as you won’t be up for fuel surcharges on American Airlines.

For example, the taxes and fees on a one-way Economy Class flight from Sydney to Los Angeles with Qantas are ~$215, much more than the ~$70 you are charged on a flight with American Airlines.

When flying to the US and Canada, you’ll see that the direct flights between the East Coast of Australia and the West Coast of the US are the cheapest, and the price increases as you move further west in Australia and further north and east in the North America. The maximum you’ll pay to get there is 60,000 points.

Here are some examples of popular award redemptions:

Brisbane to Los Angeles: 45,000

Sydney to Dallas/Fort Worth: 55,000

Melbourne to Toronto: 60,000

Adelaide to Vancouver: 60,000

Perth to New York: 60,000

4. Flights within the US in American Airlines Business Class for 16,000-50,000 points

For the large size that it is, the US does not benefit from the relatively lower airfares that we enjoy here in Australia and further abroad in Asia and Europe, making award redemptions an attractive proposition. Whilst customer service standards on US airlines are generally below ours here in Australia, note that you will usually only pay $5.60 in taxes and fees per segment, so I guess it all balances out.

What American Airlines calls First Class on its domestic flights is what we would call Business Class here in Australia, so don’t be fooled.

If you’re taking a relatively shorter flight of less than 600 miles, like San Francisco to Las Vegas, you will be charged 16,000 Qantas Points on American Airlines Business Class.

For a medium-distance flight like Dallas/Fort Worth to Chicago, you would be up for 24,000 Qantas Points.

And on the longer side of things pushing five or six hours in the air, like Los Angeles to New York or Miami to Seattle, it’s 50,000 Qantas Points. That may seem like a lot, but getting the chance to potentially be in a lie-flat seat flying from coast to coast across a huge country represents quite good value.

Check the seat map on SeatGuru for the flight number you are looking at to see if the seats are angled-flat or lie-flat.

5. East Coast to Southeast Asia in Qantas Premium Economy for 45,000 points or Business Class for 60,000 points

Qantas’ 747 Premium Economy cabin

Qantas currently flies the same new A330 Business Cabin and also the older Boeing 747 on the following routes:

Sydney/Melbourne/Brisbane to Singapore/Hong Kong

Sydney to Bangkok/Manila

If you don’t have enough points for a return ticket and are going to buy one leg with cash and one with points, try to make the return leg from Hong Kong or Manila the one that you book with points, as flights from these two airports have low fuel surcharges.

6. Sydney/Melbourne to Honolulu one-way in Jetstar Business Class for 57,600 points

Jetstar now flies a significant number of routes that Qantas doesn’t, both internationally and domestically, and Qantas Points are pretty much the only way to redeem for Jetstar flights.

On these two routes, Qantas only operates from Sydney, but you’ll be charged 20% more (72,000 points) if you redeem on the Qantas flight rather than the Jetstar flight. If you have the extra points, you may prefer to opt for the higher level of service and comfort, as we explain in our review of Jetstar’s Business Class here.

How to get 60,000 Qantas Points

There’s up to 120,000 bonus Qantas or Altitude Points on offer with the American Express Westpac Altitude Black bundle (ends 2 April 2019).

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Who wrote this
article?

Matt is a Content Producer for Point Hacks, joining the team in 2016. Originally from Sydney, he won the green card lottery and now bases himself in the US for half the year and abroad for the other half. His favourite destinations so far have been Japan, Iran, Colombia, Israel and South Africa, and his top flight experiences in Cathay Pacific First, SWISS Business and Singapore Airlines Economy Class.

Comments

Great article Matt , personally Cathay Pacific Business class from Hong Kong – Sydney for 65,000 points plus $100 AUD in tax the best way to use my points . Bangkok – Sydney with Emirates Business Class for 60,000 come second but the tax is higher ~ $300 AUD , they provide airport transfer at both end of the Airport with Mercedes Car last time i used it .

To keep Fuel Surcharges low but use same amount of points, are you able book a multi-city flight departing from NZ on Emirates, travelling through BNE onward to Europe – then miss the first leg of the flight and get on the A380 in BNE?

I’m guessing there is some routing rule or the like which stops this being able to happen.

No, generally if you miss the first leg of an itinerary all the subsequent tickets will get cancelled (or at best, you will have problems with). Missing the last leg though – if you don’t have checked baggage – that’s far easier.

I am wondering how you actually achieve number 3. We are travelling to the US PE on points and are now trying to book flights within the US on points however they do not come up when using the booking tool on qantas.com. Can you only redeem points within the US on connecting flights! Thank you!

It’s definitely possible to book intra-US flights on American without a Qantas flight on the itinerary as well. It may be that there is no availability for the routes and dates you are looking for, in which case try broadening your search to other closer cities, or other dates, if you can.